Dakor, I'm new to this forum so bare with me. I just acquired a Sako .338 lapua several months ago. Its only a trg-s lightweight sporter but oh boy, what a cartridge. It has a brake on it but from what I have seen,that is not factory to have a brake. If there was ever any reason for product liability in firearms, it would be for releasing that rifle from the factory without a brake. When my bro-in-law fired his for the first time, it left blood and snot on the gun, and were not sure where the blood came from other than maybe his tear ducts.

I'm putting together a custom LR rifle this summer and its definately going to be chambered for the .338 Lapua.

Senior Senderos

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Spent thousands on long range gear only to take a mule deer at 128 yards.....

Well in response to that I like my eye balls where they are at [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] So I think I will stick to the 300 Win Mag. If I really want a big boomer I will build a 375 H&H some day from what I hear the recoil is less then a 338 Win Mag. As for the fluting I am getting to different story's so I dont know what to do there [img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

For what its worth I agree with Brian, Flutting in my opinion is more for weight reduction than anything else.

I have both style barrels and to be honest,both heat up and both dont shoot as accurate as when they are cool,keep in mind this is just what I have noticed.

There are a lot of barrel makers out there so I cant speak for all barrels,there are also a lot more guys here that can cover this subject better than I.
If it were me and I wanted to build a lightweight gun I would look at all my options and go with the gun and barrel I thought would offer the best of both worlds,
Weight and accuracy and dont forget the appeal of the gun to you. Remember your the one who has to look at it all the time! I dont think you can go wrong if you choose the one that you like best,the last flutted gun I bought was for weight reduction and I thought it looked nice with the fluttes.

I personaly like a gun (if for hunting)to have a little weight to it.seems to be easier to hold steady off hand and settles on the target faster,the weight I shoot for is around 8-9.5 pound range with the scope,bi-pod and such.

Whatever you decide have fun and happy shooting! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Well thanks for all the suggestions. After talking to my gun smith I am building a 300 Win Mag with a # 5 Fluted Lilja with a 27 1/2" Finish and a 1 and 10 twist. Now I need to come up with the cash [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

The .300 Win Mag is an awesome hunting round. No way you can go wrong with it. If you ever get to the point you need more you are truly a master of the rifle.

Barrel flutings main advantage is cooling time. By fluting your barrel you will be able to get more practice in the same amount of time. Most of us practice more when the weather is nice and barrels cool slower the warmer it is.

Whether this is worth the expense is a personal determination but I never have as much time to practice as I want and waiting for the barrel to cool seems like a poor use of what time I have.

As to rigidity a more rigid barrel will vibrate faster and more than a less rigid barrel. To reduce barrel vibrations you want to increase weight and decrease rigidity. The reason a heavy barrel shoots better is because it is heavy not because it is more rigid.